Weddingbee boards

It is INSANELY expensive to get even mediocre coverage!

My parent's own their own business and have never had any option but to have independent insurance.  They paid around $900 a month for coverage for our family.  This still left them with a $1000 deductable per person per year, mediocre prescription co-pays, and no preventative coverage (for things like mammograms, paps, etc - my mom always had to pay those out of pocket).

@Mrs.KMM: IF you know what you are looking for, you can find some that isn't that expensive.

OP, I have been on my own health insurance for 4 years, and I'll never go back! If you have Carefirst in your area, I would go with them. They have maternity built into the policy, and most times there isn't a separate, ridiculously high deductible like a lot of other companies.

I sold health insurance until just recently, PM if you have any specific questions

@MrsSl82be: My parents have been doing this for 27 years (like I said, they've never had any other option) and they've done a TON of searching to try to reduce what they pay without losing coverage.  That is the cheapest they can find.

So no - you can't always find coverage for cheaper.

ETA: They are currently with Blue Cross Blue Shield.

@Mrs.KMM: That's interesting, because they cover my paps, my annual checkup, and all my labs. I pay $0 for all of that

@MrsSl82be: I get BCBS coverage through my work so I don't pay much and have like a $150 or $200 deductable for they year, good coverage of labs, annual exam, prescriptions, etc.  I get great coverage for what we pay (compared to family and friends).  It sounds pretty similar to what you have, actually.

But my parents can't even come close to the coverage I get with their independent policy without paying a fortune each month.

@Mrs.KMM: Is it just your parents, or do they have children also? I helped my friend when she was looking last year, and she was able to get a good policy for I think $400 a month for her and her husband and their baby, which is a pretty good deal for individual health.

Curious, do they have an older policy with them? If so, maybe they should call and see if they can switch to a "new" plan. Kind of like when cell phone plans change, you can keep what you have or upgrade, and sometime save money. I wonder if maybe that's why they are paying so much. $900 seems like a lot

@strawbabies: I've heard that as well. I plan on sticking with BC/BS because their coverage/price can't be beat (for my situation at least)

@MrsSl82be: They at one point had 3 kids on the plan.  I've since been dropped from the plan so there are now only two kids but dropping me didn't really change what they owed each month.

They re-assess what BCBS offers every year (in terms of new policies and such) and can't get it cheaper without losing coverage and/or raising their deductable more (at least for now).